


Rumour Has It

by Sister_Grimm



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Infidelity, M/M, ambigious ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 10:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7433222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sister_Grimm/pseuds/Sister_Grimm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Axel has a crush, Cisco is insecure and Hartley is emotionally constipated</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rumour Has It

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit on tumblr: notsolittlegirlevenmorelost

Exploding Angry Birds plushies.

Exploding Angry Birds plushies.

Exploding Angry Birds plushies.

Nope, it's still not any less insane.

However, there's a ton of them so Barry is zipping around trying to find them, which leaves Hartley on Trickster containment duty. He has his gloves set to disorient but not hurt. But Trickster won't stop fucking moving anyway, "You know, I may not go down in history but I'll go down on you!"

Cisco groans in his ear at the horrible pick up line.

Finally he locates the brat and takes aim at him and Trickster stumbles, and tries to look under the hood as he calls, "You look familiar, have we had sex before?"

"God, Hartley please say no.", Cisco mutters.

Hartley blinks, "What are you even talking about?" 

"You should join the circus.", Trickster grins when he regains his balance.

Hartley blinks, "What.", he says flatly.

"So you can learn to juggle my balls all day."

What is even happening and then suddenly Barry is behind the Trickster and he grabs him.

"Thanks, Piper."

"Piper, eh? You, me, handcuffs, and whipped cream: interested?", and the Trickster just fucking winked at him.

"Not particularly.", Hartley says with a chuckle, cheeks flushed under his hood.

"Just give me a chance.", Trickster turns an attempt at puppy dog eyes on him.

"Take him away, Flash.", Hartley says finally.

***

It's open mic night at Hartley's favourite bar so the team is gathered in their usual booth between songs and Barry laughs, "Trickster said what?"

"I think he was just fucking with me.", Hartley reassures under the weight of Cisco's gaze. 

"Probably.", Barry agrees.

But Caitlin interrupts him before he can keep talking, "Barry, you're up."

Iris whistles as Barry hops on to the stage. 

Cisco tangles their fingers together under the table.

***

Hartley gets home and his head is spinning a bit and he turns on the light in his kitchen and then he nearly jumps a foot in the air because there's a teddy bear holding a heart sitting on his kitchen table.

What the fuck.

He grabs his gloves from his bag and slips them on as he steps towards the kitchen table. There is a note scrawled in chicken scratch. "Sorry, jail seemed boring. You don't though."

Hartley freezes and grabs the note off the table and he crumples it up and tosses it in the trash and he walks back to the table, trying to assess if he thinks the teddy bear will explode.

Then his phone rings and he jumps again. His phone keeps ringing as he struggles to take his gloves off.

"Fucking Trickster escaped.", Cisco grumbles when Hartley finally manages to answer the phone. 

"I know.", Hartley says quietly.

"What?"

"Just send Barry to my apartment."

Barry is there in a split second. "What the fuck?"

"I got home and this was on my table."

Suddenly, Barry is holding the teddy bear, "It's not rigged."

"I'm not sure if that is better or worse."

He doesn't mention the note.

***

"Hartley, are you ok?", Cisco grabs him as soon as he and Barry show up at the Cortex.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little alarmed."  
Caitlin looks at the teddy bear. There's nothing strictly unusual about it though with Trickster that in and of itself was unusual. It's the kind of thing that takes over drugstores every Valentine's Day. And Cisco looks like he wants to just take the thing apart. 

"Does your building have security cameras?"

Hartley laughs, "You've been to my building. It's not exactly Rathaway Mansion."

"I'll talk to Felicity, maybe she can find something.", Cisco says.

"And Joe's got people out looking for Axel.", Barry assures him.

"Then I'm gonna go home. I'm kind of exhausted."

"No!", Cisco yelps, "Stay with me, please."

Hartley pauses. He's not a big sleepover guy.

"Please. At least until they catch Axel.", Cisco implores him.

Finally Hartley nods, "Yeah, you're probably right."

Cisco looks relieved as soon as the words are out of Hartley's mouth.

Felicity promises she'll do some digging.

***

It takes Axel Walker a week to resurface. He waits until Hartley is back in his own apartment. Hartley gets in late after session upgrading Barry's suit with Cisco. He moves to his door and it's ajar so he goes for his gloves as he opens the door and Axel Walker is sitting in his couch with popcorn.

"Piper!", Axel says with a grin. "Did you get my present?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"Did you like it?"

"Uh...it was sweet."

"You more of a leather type?"

Hartley blinks, "Axel I'm flattered but I have a boyfriend."

"I don't care if you don't.", Axel says cheerily as he steps into Hartley's space. How did he get so close?

Axel's hands are oddly cold when they brush against the skin of his stomach to pull him close. He's a little taller than Hartley and when he kisses him it's not gentle.

But it is tempting.

"No.", Hartley says firmly, grabbing Axel's wrists as he begins to slip his hands under Hartley's shirt.

Axel smiles, "If you change your mind you know how to find me."

And then he leaves through the window of Hartley's apartment.

It can't be this easy.

***

It's not.

The next day he can't quite look Cisco in the eye.

And when he gets home there is another teddy bear (but thankfully no Axel).

***

They're all looking at little worse for wear after defeating the latest metahuman, a guy Cisco was calling Mirror Master, when he and Cisco get back to his apartment. And just like every day for the last week, there's a teddy bear holding a heart.

And Hartley cringes as he sees Cisco look anywhere but at the teddy bear. "You can probably pick it up.", he says finally.

"Are you sure?"

"No but none of the other ones have exploded.", he had to be honest eventually he figures.

"Others?", Cisco says quietly.

"He's left one every day this week.", Hartley says finally, not looking Cisco in the eye.

"Trickster is stalking you and you didn't mention anything?", Cisco snaps accusingly.

"I can handle it!"

Cisco raises an eyebrow and lashes out, "Handle it or handle him?"

Hartley almost stumbles, "What precisely are you accusing me of?"

"Are you sleeping with Axel?", Cisco is aiming for angry but it mostly sounds broken.

"What the fuck. How could you even ask me that?"

"He's just your type."

"Get out.", Hartley snaps before any of the ugly things he wants to say spill out. 

***

He's made a mistake. He shouldn't have sent Cisco away. He knows Cisco feels insecure in their relationship. Knows Cisco had never been with a guy before him. 

He loves Cisco. He knows this too. Loves him more than he's ever loved anyone before. And he can't say it. He doesn't know how.

He'd love to blame this on inner turmoil but that won't make Cisco forgive him when he finds out. If they were still together, they won't be after this.

It's for the best. For both their sakes. 

His rationalizations ring hollow even to him as Axel looks at him with a leer.

"Well, it's about time, Piper."

***

He didn't expect the guilt. The gnawing pain in his stomach, the sick feeling in the back of his throat to pair with the hickeys Axel couldn't resist leaving despite Hartley's violent instance against marks. 

He's made a mistake and he's ruined the only good thing in his life.

***

It's just the two of them in the pipeline. Powers training. They haven't spoken since the fight a week ago except on Flash business when Hartley breaks the silence, "I'm sorry I didn't say this when it mattered: I love you."

Cisco yanks his goggles off, "What?"

"I slept with Trickster after our fight."

Cisco just nods mutely.

"It was a mistake. I think I love you and I can't...I don't know how to love someone. And I was scared. I've been scared since I met you."

Cisco reaches over and takes one of Hartley's gloves off. Squeezes his hand.


End file.
